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Tonie Farrell, 49, suffered a broken bone following an altercation with Sgt. Russell Watson in April 2013. She told the Star last year that she now walks with a cane.

Tonie Farrell shows the scars on her leg she says were the result of an assault by an OPP officer in April 2013. On Tuesday, the SIU upheld its previous decision not to lay charges against the officer. (CODY STORM COOPER / FOR THE TORONTO STAR)

Farrell was initially charged with assaulting Watson by grabbing his lapel. At her trial, she testified that she was trying to help him catch the people who had apparently assaulted a woman behind a convenience store.

Ontario Court Justice George Beatty acquitted her in December, saying she was simply a “Good Samaritan.” The Special Investigations Unit, which had initially concluded after a month-long investigation in 2013 that there were no reasonable grounds to charge Watson, reopened its investigation in March following Beatty’s ruling and a public outcry.

On Tuesday, SIU director Tony Loparco upheld the SIU’s original decision, while describing Farrell’s injuries as “unfortunate and serious,” including what he states was a broken tibia. He said there were differences between what Farrell told SIU investigators and what she said at her trial, particularly regarding a missing tooth.

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He pointed out that while the assault victim who Farrell was trying to help spoke to SIU investigators and corroborated Watson’s version of events, she was not called as a witness at Farrell’s trial.

Loparco also found that medical information showing Farrell had weak bone density in her injured leg was not presented at trial and could have explained the extent of her injury.

Farrell did not return a request for comment on Tuesday. Her trial lawyer, Angela McLeod, said she was “outraged” by the SIU’s decision and reasoning.

“What is clear is that the SIU blames myself as trial counsel (for not calling a witness), Ms. Farrell (for apparently having weak bones) and the learned trial judge (for not apparently being capable of understanding the evidence),” McLeod told the Star.

“Not only does the SIU not hold Sgt. Watson accountable for his actions, they have added insult to injury by minimizing them. The complete and utter lack of respect for the justice system is disheartening at the least and disgusting at most.”

An OPP spokesman said the force and Watson would not be commenting.

Watson had arrived on the scene of an apparent assault in the early hours of April 2, 2013, according to Loparco’s report, and found Farrell consoling the victim. Farrell had heard her screams while walking home with a friend.

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Loparco wrote that Farrell became agitated “and began to interfere with (Watson’s) ability to speak with the assault victim. Sgt. Watson cautioned her to step aside, probably using some profanity in the process, but Ms Farrell failed to do so. Instead, Ms Farrell reached out and made contact with the officer’s jacket.”

“The two tussled for a moment before Sgt. Watson attempted to trip Ms Farrell with his right leg. The maneuver did not go as planned and Ms Farrell fell awkwardly as Sgt. Watson lost his balance and fell on top of her, fracturing her left tibia in the process.”

Loparco said Watson continued to struggle with Farrell as another officer arrived on scene and “delivered a short hand strike to Ms Farrell’s face,” before she was finally handcuffed and led away.

The director found that the hand strike was justified given the circumstances.

At trial last year, the judge said that Watson was a “large and powerfully built man” who did not provide an explanation as to how Farrell’s bone was broken and did not record the “hammer strike” to her left eye in his notes. Farrell is 5-foot-8 and weighed about 140 pounds at the time of the incident.

The judge found that Watson’s version of events was “suspect” and that Farrell did not grab his lapel.

Loparco said in his report on Tuesday that there were “several versions” regarding Farrell losing a tooth. He said Farrell never mentioned it to SIU investigators during the first investigation nor is it confirmed by medical reports. He said that the first mention of it came from Farrell at her trial.

Most likely, Loparco said, “First... she did not suffer an injury to her tooth as a result of the incident.” He concluded that Watson did not stomp or kick Farrell’s leg as she described, and he said the trip to bring her to the ground may have been “imprudent,” but not unreasonable.

He said Farrell’s trial was not made aware of medical information that showed Farrell had very low bone density in her injured leg “which in itself could have been a contributing factor in the severity of the injury.”

Farrell launched a $4-million lawsuit against Watson and the OPP in January. An OPP spokesman declined to comment on whether the police force has filed its statement of defence.

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